>>JD> Think about this: Nearly all large ships are powered by either steam
 >>JD> turbines or huge Diesel engines. Does that make either suitable for
 >>JD> automotive use? (Especially compared to present-day gasoline engines)
 >> 
 >> Yes, I agree and most use electric drive to transfer power to the prop.
>     They do? Do you mean outside of submarines?
You don't have to have mechanical transmissions and if one engine goes 
out, you can run both props from one engine.  Much better control of 
power range too...
 >>JD> you should be interested in the announcements in the past couple of
 >>JD> days of some new fuel cell technology that's being developed. The
 >>JD> thing runs on gasoline, extracting the needed hydrogen from that fuel.
 >>JD> I'd almost bet on it making it to market quicker than a turbine in
 >>JD> automotive applications.
 >> 
 >> Do you have any details of the operating principles? Catalyzers?
>     All I know is what I read in the newspapers. It's not a totally new 
>     technology; fuel cells have been around for a LONG time. The main 
>     thing with this one is the ability to use fuels like gasoline, meaning 
>     that the needed infrastructure for practical use is already in place. 
>     IE: You can buy fuel for it almost everywhere, whether it's powering 
>     your auto or your homestead. Lots better than using hydrogen or some 
>     other source.
There is a reaction chamber before the fuel cell - the gasoline is 
broken down in several stages into a hydrogen rich gas, the oxygen 
comes out somewhere else and they meet in the fuel cell.
Gasoline has such a *huge* watt-per-volume advantage that it makes 
sense to use it for an application like this especially for remote 
sites or vehicles.
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